The conference, preceded by a day of closed-door strategy sessions, offered a glimpse into an organized and highly dedicated corner of conservatism that is committed to shrinking the EPA, demolishing the foundations of greenhouse gas regulations and minimizing the government's efforts to combat climate change wherever possible.

At the movement's center are think tanks like the Heartland Institute and the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which have for years operated on the margins of the right. Both have tirelessly worked to undermine the consensus among most climate scientists that greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are the primary reason the Earth's climate is changing and global temperatures are at record highs.

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"This is a great moment. Everybody should savor it and keep pushing," said Myron Ebell, who led Trump's EPA transition team. "We need to support everything that the Trump administration is doing that's moving toward less regulation and more freedom, and we need to oppose them when they start going bad and the swamp starts taking over."

Ebell, who is director of the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, spoke on a panel reforming the EPA. He was pleased, so far, but warned "President Trump has allowed some parts of the swamp already to invade parts of his administration."